Multi-processor systems may be configured for generally uniform memory access or non-uniform memory access. Symmetric multi-processor (SMP) systems may include generally uniform memory access by each processor in the system, i.e., memory access time (“latency”) for processors in the system may be generally uniform. In non-uniform memory access (NUMA) architecture multi-processor systems, memory access time may be non-uniform, i.e., may depend on whether the memory being accessed is local to or remote from the processor that is accessing the memory.
NUMA, on the other hand, is configured for non-uniform access to memory. In a NUMA system, a node, including a processor, may be associated with a node local memory. The processor within a node may have lower latency access to the memory that is local to that node (node local memory) as compared to access to a remote, i.e., non-local, memory. In a NUMA system, the processor in a node may be coupled to remote memory through one or more processors not in the node, i.e., in another node. Remote memory accesses may therefore result in a relatively higher latency than local memory accesses. Accordingly, in a NUMA system local memory accesses may provide an improvement in system performance while remote memory accesses may degrade system performance.
Although the following Detailed Description will proceed with reference being made to illustrative embodiments, many alternatives, modifications, and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art.